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| E. Casillas w/ Voodoo Glow Skulls at the Vans Warped Tour 2009 |
Eddie Casillas is
probably one of the more successful musicians in Riverside, in part due to the
world renowned Ska Punk band, Voodoo Glow Skulls, which he formed with his
brothers Frank, and Jorge, and longtime friend, Jerry O’Neil in ’88. VGS has
played alongside such acts as Fishbone, The Dickies, and The Mighty MightyBosstones, and even signed with Epitaph records in the ninties. (Now on VictoryRecords).
Voodoo Glow Skulls are
defines by their swinging horn sections, active walking bass lines, tight and aggressive
guitar work, and jumpin’ ska beats. As a denizen of Riverside CA, I have grown
up listening to this iconic and influential band and I’ve even gone as far as
to sneak my 15 year old self into the Live Oak Bar in Corona back in `92 just
to hear them play, and when me and my friends were booted to the curb, we snuck
around, stood up on trash cans and watched them perform their trademark frantic
brand of Ska core through the windows.
Aside from the band,
Eddie is also owner of Dog Run Studios in Riverside Ca. where he has produced
acts such as Still Dreadful and Whitecaps. I wanted to ask him a few questions about
his career and his experience with Voodoo Glow Skulls. Eddie was kind enough to
take a few minutes out of his hectic touring schedule and here’s what he had to
say.
THR: Can you tell the
readers a little bit about your history with the Voodoo Glow Skulls?
Eddie Casillas: I
formed VGS with my younger brother Jorge and friend Jerry back in 1988.
Eventually we asked if our older brother Frank wanted to try out as the singer.
That was the OG line up until 1991 when we decided to add a horn section.
THR: How did you
promote those shows?
EC: We promoted those shows by fliering record
stores and local shows mostly. There were no websites to promote on back then...
THR: How did being in
VGS lead to your own studio?
EC: I eventually
got interested in recording after getting the opportunity to work with a few
well known engineer/producers back when we were on Epitaph records. [That’s when]
I decided to start buying gear and started
reading and paying attention to the process.
THR: What has been your
most successful promoting strategy? What has been the least? (For either your
studio or your band)
EC: Getting on or being on a big label like
Epitaph or Victory helps big time with promotion. Big, successful labels tend
to have all the resources to make stuff;
touring relentlessly also helps. I think all or any promotion is good...
THR: How has promoting
changed since you started out over 20 years ago? Has that been a positive
change?
EC: The internet has changed promotion and the
way things are done. Now anyone can obviously start a Facebook band page or any
other of the social media websites and try and get established. Music can
instantly be shared online, for better or for worse. Anyone can promote
themselves doing almost anything via internet. It may have taken away some of
the mystique from being in a band or whatever. Everything seems accessible now.
THR:What was the
biggest highlight for you as a professional musician?
EC:The biggest highlights have been touring the
more exotic places where bands go around the world and hearing kids sing along.
It's about reaching people and knowing they listened to the tunes.
THR: What has been
your most valuable learning experience?
EC: The most valuable thing I've learned is to
stick to your guns and please yourself musically, without any compromise. It's
easy to get caught up in what someone else wants you to do...
THR: What are the
moments you enjoy the most in your career?
EC: Playing a good live show in front of fans that
genuinely seem to care and having a great time doing it, is what it's really all
about. Traveling and doing that are the best moments.
THR: Who has been the
most rewarding person to work with in your career, either recording wise or
performing?
EC: My two brothers have been the most
rewarding people I have been around and played with in the music biz. Second
would be working with Brett Guerewitz from Bad Religion and Epitaph records.
THR: What are your
goals with your studio?
EC: My goal with my studio or recording is to
make consistent great records and get them at the highest quality possible, in
as comfortable, friendly a way as possible.
THR: Why do you think
it’s so much harder for unique bands to find success?
EC: Unique bands sometimes have to search or
reach for an audience. It seems a lot easier to play up to what the popular
kids like and compromise yourself for success. I guess it depends on what it is
u want though.
THR: How do you define
success?
EC: I define
success as playing the music or doing anything that you love without any
compromise and getting to do it as often as you like and finding your own
audience that responds to it positively.
THR: What advice can
you give to struggling bands trying to come up in today’s world?
EC: Coming up in today’s
world seems a lot more difficult in many ways to me. You gotta find your niche,
audience etc. and work hard as you can to get success or whatever your goals
are. Playing live as much as possible and having fun is the first big step. If you
love doing it, eventually an audience might catch on!
Catch the VGS at one of these upcoming shows:
September 27th-Los Angeles, CA-The Blue Star w//Union 13!
September 28th-Parker, AZ-Bluewater Casino Amphitheatre w/FISHBONE!
September 29th-Riverside,CA-Warfest at Adams Motorsports Park
October 5th-The Black Box-Tijuana, BC
October 6th-El Pasaguero-Mexico City,DF,Mx
October 25th-Juke Joint-Anaheim, CA
October 26th-The Vault-Temecula, CA
October 27th-The Bunkhouse-Las Vegas, NV
For more info on Eddie Casillas or Voodoo Glow Skulls:
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